Gigantic capacity: Western Digital launches SSD with 128 TByte
QLC flash pushes capacities upwards: Western Digital presents the first SSD with 128 terabytes, the capacity of MicroSD cards increases to 4 TByte.
Various storage media on the side; it is not yet clear in which format WD will launch its 128 GB SSD.
(Image: c't)
- Lutz Labs
Western Digital (WDC) is announcing the first 128-TB SSD at the FMS, but it does not yet have a name. Apart from the capacity, no further details are known so far, except for the type of NAND flash used: Quad-Level Cell (QLC) chips of the eighth WDC generation, called BiCS8. According to Western Digital, the SSD is particularly suitable for "AI data lakes" and capacity-intensive performance applications. This typically also means that it is not designed for maximum write endurance.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, the annual meeting of the flash industry will start in Santa Clara, California, which has recently been renamed "The Future of Memory and Storage". According to the organizers, the old name "Flash Memory Summit" no longer reflected the essence of the event, which has also been dealing with other storage technologies for some time – fortunately, the old abbreviation FMS also fits the new name. Many companies continue to use the FMS as an opportunity to present new flash storage media.
SD card with 8 TByte
A new SD card presented by Western Digital will probably also be equipped with this type of memory: the card will hold 8 TByte under the label of the WDC subsidiary Sandisk, but no information is yet available on the date and price. Some time ago, WDC had already announced a 4 TByte SD card, but this is not yet available.
The capacity of MicroSD cards is also increasing to 4 TByte. UHS-I is still used as the interface, but it requires new card readers: The SDXC standard is at the end at 2 TByte, the cards mentioned use SDUC (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity).
According to WDC, the 16 TByte USB SSD Sandisk Desk Drive is currently still a "proof of concept". Further data and prices are currently not available. WDC also intends to launch further client SSDs with PCI Express 5.0, but apart from this announcement there are no further details.
Enterprise technology
According to Western Digital, SSDs in the network will soon no longer need additional servers. The Rapidflex interposer converts PCIe SSD signals into Ethernet signals so that PCIe SSDs can now be used either in a system architecture with Ethernet switching or PCIe switching. This is primarily intended to improve AI workflows. According to the company, the first customers are preparing for deployment.
(Image: c't / ll)
If Rob Soderbery, Executive Vice President and General Manager of WDC's Flash Business Unit, announces further details in his keynote speech at the FMS on Tuesday, we will update this article accordingly.
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(ll)
